In The Darkness
by MyGoodSir
Summary: A mysterious pony arrives in Ponyville in the middle of the night. When he wakes up, though, his plan does not happen the way he wanted it to. rated T at the moment, but possible change later OC ponies
1. Prologue: In The Darkness

Prologue: In The Darkness

He felt proud of his timing. Just as he reached Ponyville, the sun was well below the horizon. To further his luck, the night was cloudy, preventing the light of the stars and the moon from penetrating to the ground. In the darkness, barely anything could be seen. As he walked the streets silently, he looked at all of the buildings, hoping to find a nice one. The houses he passed all disappointed him. Finally, he found one to his liking. From his perspective, it appeared to be entirely in a tree. Excited, he quickly started to gallop, but in the process, he tripped over his own cloak. As he fell, he could feel the fabric fly off of his body. His heart raced as he tried to find the cloak in the darkness. Helping him his entire journey, the black color of his cloak became a disadvantage. Once he retrieved it, he glanced sharply at the houses around him, but thankfully, nothing was disturbed. He tightened the cloak across his neck and made sure it covered his full body length. He always became worried when ponies asked why he had his cloak, but he would always lie to them by saying it was related to my cutie mark. He reached the house within the tree, _Would it technically be a tree-house?_, he thought. His horn glowed as he used magic to silently open the door. The pony crept inside as he closed the door behind him. He could hardly see his own hooves in the darkness. After walking aimlessly around the room, he found a spot between two large bookcases, and went to sleep.


	2. Sunset and Sunrise

First extra OC Pony: Pure Heart

From "Pony Split" by Ark125

**Canterlot Castle**

Pure slept soundly for a while. He woke up when he went to put his foreleg around his wife, but hit the bed. Quickly, he looked, and saw he was alone. Glancing around the room, he saw the door slightly ajar. The room he slept in was quite large, but also very dark. His wife preferred the darkness, and so did he. His blanket had a large symbol of a crescent moon, with a few stars around the bright object in the fabric. He stood up, rolling his shoulders to relax the muscles. Pure's coat was a deep red, matching his horn and wings in color. His mane and tail, both a mix of light brown and darker brown hairs. He walked out of his room, and into the immense hallway. Being around sunset, the lighting was dim, preventing much observation of the hall. As he walked, he saw a few servants quickly buzzing about, trying to finish their jobs before the night took over. He guessed his wife had visited her sister, his sister-in-law, in her study room. When he approached the study, Pure heard voices arising from the entrance. He knew he should walk in, but he decided to eavesdrop instead.

"You've never felt this before?" asked a voice Pure recognized as his wife's.  
"Not that I can remember." another voice responded, his wife's sister.  
"Should we investigate?"  
"First," said Pure's sister-in-law, "I would prefer if Pure Heart didn't eavesdrop and just joined our conversation." Pure remained still for a few seconds, stunned that she knew he was there. Eventually he entered the room, blushing a little as he saw the two ponies staring at him. Both were alicorns, but one was larger than the other. The larger one had a coat of ivory-white, her mane filled with majestic colors that appeared rainbow-like. She had a crown above her forehead, for she was one of the Princesses of Equestria. The other pony stood next to her sister. Celestia made her sister appear small next to her, although her sister was one of the largest ponies in the land, due to being an alicorn. She had a dark cobalt skin; with a mane that reminded ponies of midnight, having light and dark shades of blue. Luna looked at her husband entering and released a small chuckle.  
"What's so funny?" Pure asked his wife, slightly annoyed.  
"Nothing dear, it's just that you aren't very good and sneaking around."  
"Anyway," said Celestia, "We need to deal with our problem."  
"What exactly is it?" he asked. When he received looks from his family, he quickly added, "Well, I wasn't here to hear it. I just got to the door when you told me to come in."  
"The problem is an unusual sensation coming from Ponyville."  
"What exactly do you mean by 'unusual sensation'?"  
I have a partial connection with the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. I mainly set it up to protect her in cases of an emergency, but I can feel certain things from where she is that she cannot."  
"Such as..." said Pure, after waiting a few seconds for Celestia to continue.  
"A mysterious energy source."  
"So are you saying that Twilight has a secret nuclear reactor in the basement of the library." he said, laughing. His laughs stopped when he received blank stares from the other alicorns. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."  
"When I say energy source, I mean another unicorn."  
"Is he giving off more energy than he should?"  
"Pure," Luna said, "Most unicorns barely register any energy released, only the most talented unicorns give off noticeable amounts. This source seems to be giving off more than that."  
"So..., are we going to search Ponyville?"  
"No." Pure looked at Celestia with an odd look. "Don't you want to know what this thing is?"  
"I do, but I also want to see what happens if we don't interfere at this moment. We will find out, but not now."

**Ponyville Library**

**12 hours earlier**

His eyes shot open when he realized he slept too long. The pony only meant to get a few hours of sleep, but he dozed off longer than expected. Just as he was about to move, he heard movement from the room. His body froze as he saw a figure walk down a staircase. From his viewpoint, he could see the pony was a unicorn, having a lavender coat. The unicorn's mane and tail were both a dark violet, each having a single line of pink and light purple. As the lavender unicorn spoke, he could easily tell it was female, "Good morning Spike. I'm surprised to see you up early." He glanced to where she was looking and saw a small dragon. The dragon had a light purple skin with a light green underbelly. Spike's scales were of a darker green hue. "Well, I _am _your number one assistant, Twilight." he replied. Before he could do anything, the unicorn, Twilight, looked in his direction and said, "And good morning to you as well."

Still accepting more OCs


	3. The Library

The cloaked unicorn was speechless, along with Spike, but still not moving from his position. Twilight walked over to him and said, "May I ask why you are here? I heard you come in at night, but when I saw that you fell asleep, I could tell you weren't trying to do anything."  
Sheepishly, he stepped out of his hiding spot and tightened his cloak. Twilight saw him better in the open. The unicorn had a dark brown coat; his mane was a deep black and, his tail the same. The unicorn also appeared quite large. He replied, "I'm just trying to find a place to sleep."  
"Don't you have a home?" asked Twilight.  
"No, I live on the road."  
"Do you remember where you're from?" Twilight asked, astonished by his first answer.  
He thought for a moment, and said, "No, I don't." He looked at her with soft eyes, hoping his lie would fool her. He knew he was a good liar, but he also knew that sometime, he would be caught. Thankfully for him, that day wasn't coming in the near future.  
"Oh, is there anyway I can help?" she asked, once she bought his lie.  
"The only thing I could asked for is a place to stay for a tiny bit."  
"Well," replied Twilight, "You can stay as long as you want, we have a spare room that we can give you. Do you have a name?"  
"That I do," he said with a chuckle," It is Hazelnut, or just Hazel for short." The reason he chose that name was due to both him having a brown coat, and him trying to remain hidden. He thought a soft sounding name would make ponies ignore him more. So far, he was right.  
"Well, Hazelnut, do you want me to clean your cloak for you?"  
"NO!" Hazelnut said hastily. Quickly, he recovered himself, "Sorry, It's just this cloak is very precious to me. I'm very protective of it."  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."  
"It's fine."

Hazel, Twilight, and Spike all stood in silence for a while. The silence was finally broken when an orange pony walked into the room. Her mane was a very pale yellow, and she wore a Stetson hat. "Mornin' Twilight. Mornin' Spike. How y'all doin'?"  
"We're fine Applejack."  
"That's good tah hear, thought I just-" she stopped when she spotted Hazelnut. "Uhh, hello there sir." Applejack said awkwardly. Hazelnut just stared, but he wasn't thinking about the earth pony. He was thinking about their names, Twilight and Applejack. He knew he heard them from somewhere, but he could remember where. Twilight spoke to break the silence that had risen, "Applejack, this is Hazelnut. He said he needed a place to stay for a little while, so he's staying here. Hazelnut, this is Applejack, one of my best friends."  
"Uh, hi." Hazel said quickly.  
"Why are yah stayin' in a library though?" Hazel quickly looked around him. He hadn't realized this was a library. "This is a library?" he asked with astonishment.  
Twilight, appearing concerned, "Yes, is something wrong?"  
"No, it's just... Why do you live in a library?"  
"I do love books, but the main reason is because this is where Celestia put me while in Ponyville."  
"Celestia? You know Celestia?" Hazel shouted, shrinking back slightly as he spoke.  
"Yes I do. I'm, in fact, her star pupil."  
"Wait," he hesitated, "Are you Twilight Sparkle, the bearer of the Element of Magic?"  
Taken back by his question, Twilight replied, "Yes, how do you know that?"  
Instead of answering her, Hazel turned to Applejack and said, "Then you're Applejack, the bearer of the Element of Honesty."  
"Ah sure am, but do yah know that?"  
"Oh," he said, trying to think of a lie, "I've traveled a lot. I've heard stories of you two and your friends. I just never thought I would meet you in person." He became nervous, but hoped the three others in the room didn't notice.  
"Well, now that we know each other," said Twilight "Do you want to look around Ponyville, Hazel?"  
"Sure, but I've been here a long time ago, I know my way around." As Hazel left the library, he glanced at Applejack, who was eyeing him carefully. He quickly hurried out the door. Once gone, Applejack turned to Twilight, "Are yah sure yah want him to stay here at the library."  
"I don't see a problem, why? What's wrong?"  
"Ah just don't trust that fellow."  
"Why not?"  
"Ah think he's hidin' somethin' from us."


	4. Friends and Stalkers

Walking through Ponyville brought memories to Hazel's mind. It was a long time ago, but to Hazel, it felt like only a few days ago. While admiring the town, he accidentally crashed into another pony. Immediately, he felt for his cloak. He relaxed when he felt it firmly snug against his neck, but then realized he had just ran into another pony. The other pony was pink all around. Her coat was a lighter pink, while her mane and tail were of a darker hue. He offered her his hoof to help her get up, and when she saw him, she squealed in delight.  
"Oh my gosh! A new unicorn? I've never seen you. Where are you from? Where do you live? What is that black thing on your back?" she said very fast, holding the fabric. Hazel quickly sidestepped to avoid her from continuing her inspection of his cloak.  
"It's just a plain cloak. Anyways, my name is Hazelnut, or Hazel for short."  
"I'm Pinkie Pie." Hazel's eyes widened when he heard her name.  
"Pinkie Pie? Do you know a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle?"  
"Oh my gosh, Yes! Do you? Wow, I've never seen a friendship triangle before. This is so cool! Here, let me show you to my friends." Pinkie said, grabbing Hazel's hoof and dragging him through the town. After being dragged for what seemed like a very long time, Hazel could feel the pink pony let go of his hoof.  
"Here, my friends are in here. Let's go meet them." Hazel groaned quietly to himself. He really wanted to stay hidden while in Ponyville. Although he had been planning on staying longer than he normally did, he still wouldn't stay very long. When he looked up, he saw a large building named _Sugar Cube Corner_.

As he entered, his eyes shot around the room, but they stopped at a certain table. This table held three ponies: two pegasi and a unicorn.  
"Hi girls!" the mass of pink said, and shot forwards towards the table.  
"Hi Pinkie Pie. And who is this stallion you brought with you?" asked the unicorn. Her coat was a pure white, which set well against her purple mane.  
"Well, Rarity, this pony knows Twilight, so I thought to show him to you. I think we should throw him... A PARTY!" shouted Pinkie Pie, attracting more attention from the other ponies in the building.  
"Ehh... no thank you."

Everypony in the room gasped quickly at his statement, then remained in complete silence. Hazel swiftly put his hoof to his neck, but while he knew his cape was still on him, he wondered what had caused such an intense reaction.  
"Oh," said a voice, which he knew was from Pinkie Pie. Hazelnut turned to see her, and immediately noticed her mane. The puffiness it always carried seemed to be escaping, like a balloon losing its air. "If you don't want one, I... I guess it's okay." She started to walk away, towards the staircase in the parlor. Hazel glanced at the table holding her friends, and noticed they were all glaring at him. He was used to glares, but the yellow pegasus had one that sent shivers down his spine. Immediately, he broke eye contact and hastily said, "Actually, I wouldn't mind a party. Sounds like a good idea." He hoped that would cheer up Pinkie Pie, and to his joy, it did.  
"Oh, thank you, thank you. I just love making parties. There will cake, cupcakes, pie, more cake and-"  
"Can you keep it quiet," Hazel said. Realizing he may have just hurt her again, he quickly added, "I want it to be a surprise for me."  
"OH BOY! I LOVE SURPRISE PARTIES!" Pinkie Pie said, running off into the upper floor. Hazel left the building as fast as he could, trying to avoid the looks he got. After escaping, he started walking away from Sugar Cube Corner, but he sensed somepony watching him. Glancing subtly so his follower did not see, he saw a pegasus leaving followed by another pegasus of equal size. They walked next to each other, so Hazel presumed they were brothers. _Well, _he thought to himself, _First day, and I already have stalkers._


	5. Friendly Stalkers

Hazelnut turned a corner into a side street, and quickly glanced behind him. The two pegasi from Sugar Cube Corner were still following him. The pegasus in the lead seemed to be a little chubbier than his brother. He had a light grey coat. His mane and tail, being silver, blended in with his frame. His brother appeared to be more muscular, having a deep yellow coat. His mane and tail also blended with his body, for they were both gold. Hazel made a mental side note to find out the reasoning to such common coloring of their bodies. Hazelnut decided to just meet the two ponies. He quickened his pace as he past another corner and made it to a cafe. He asked for a table for three, along with three apple juices. When the followers turned the final corner, they stopped in astonishment as they saw the cloaked unicorn, sitting at a table with three drinks, smiling at them.

Hazel beckoned the two brothers over to his table. Scared at first, the pegasi finally walked over and sat down with him.  
"So," Hazel said, starting a conversation, "May I ask why you're following me?"  
"It's just you upset Pinkie Pie a lot. I got kinda angry, but I also wanted to find out who you are." said the grey pegasus.  
"About Pinkie Pie, I'm sorry for whatever I did. I didn't know she would take heavily a denial to a party. I'm not a partying type."  
"I guess I can't hold anything against you, then."  
"You never told me your names, by the way."  
"Well," started the grey pony, "Mine is Silver Blitz, and my brother's name is Gold Rush."  
"Your brother seems to be a quiet type." Silver glanced at his brother, who was staring at Hazel. He waved a hoof in front of his brother, "Hey, are you okay?"  
"What?" Gold said, seeming to come out of a trance.  
"Nevermind. Anyways," said Silver, "What's your name, and where are you from?"  
"I'm called Hazelnut, but most just say Hazel." smiled Hazel. He felt his biggest flaw came from his love of lying. He liked doing it a lot, but he always smiles unless he can restrain it. "I have been traveling a majority of my life. I might settle down somewhere, and Ponyville was a nice town from when I was last here."  
"So, you've been here before?"  
"Plenty of times, but nopony would recognize me."

After twenty minutes of talking, Hazel decided to retreat to the library. He was tired, and the night was approaching. During his ordeal, he became friends with the two pegasi, but the golden one scared him slightly. Before Hazel left, he thought it best to give the brother some advice. Knowing the advice were on topics not spoken; he could read their minds, after all; Hazel thought of the laugh he would give when he saw their faces.  
"Well, before I go, you both could use some advice." He turned to Silver Blitz and said, "You should try to tell Pinkie Pie about your feelings instead of disguising them as jokes." Before Silver could respond, Hazel turned to Gold Rush and said, "As for you, I'm not very interested in stallions at the moment. But that doesn't mean I won't be in the future." He winked at the pegasus, and turned around before they could see him grin. As the brothers watched their new friend leave, they thought of how he knew their closest secrets.

**Canterlot Castle**

Pure Heart was sitting in the library in the Canterlot Castle. Many books were available to him, yet he read none. He thought about what Celestia said was occurring in Ponyville. Pure knew it was important, because Celestia asked Luna to look after her duties while she went to study the issue at hand. As much as he wanted to wait for Luna, his curiosity got the best of him. He asked all the servants he say, a little embarrassed when he asked a servant he already met earlier that night. None knew where the Solar Princess had retreated to, but he got information from one pony. It was a guard who had seen Celestia, carrying a book, walking down a hallway. When he neared the end of the hallway, he realized where he was going. Pure walked down a set of stairs that led into the basement of the castle. The door slightly ajar, he peered inside the room. In the center of the room, he saw a sight he would never have guessed could happen. Celestia was sitting on her flank, sobbing. In front of her, was the large, stone statue of Discord.


	6. The Speaking Stone

Pure Heart just stared at his sister-in-law. He wondered why she was crying, and why was it in front of Discord.  
"You really make a bad ninja, Pure" said Celestia, shocking Pure Heart out of his trance. her voice was shaky, half-filled with sobbing.  
"Why are you crying? And why here?"  
"I'm here," she started, "because I need help from Discord." Pure stopped in his tracks. He thought Celestia had lost her mind.  
"Help from Discord? Why?"  
_Why not? _said a voice in his head. He knew it was Discord's due to the laughter afterwards.  
"What did you do to Celestia?" Pure snarled.  
_What do you mean? She came here on her own and asked for my help. I didn't do anything to her._  
"Celestia, can you tell me why you're here?" She looked up, and Pure Heart inspected her face, seeing both fresh and old tears streaked across. " And also," he added, "why are you crying?"  
"Because it's my fault."  
"What is?"  
"Everything." she said, breaking down into tears. It took many minutes before she could calm herself.  
"What do you mean, _everything_?"  
"Everything that has happened," she said, "Is all my fault. Discord, Nightmare Moon, the alicorns being killed, everything."  
"But... isn't that okay?" Pure asked quietly.  
"NO!" she shouted, scaring him. "Half of what has happened, no pony knows about; the other half are things ponies think I responded correctly to."  
"You're not making any sense? What do you mean by it being your fault?"  
"Everything originated from one action. One thing I did, that at the time, I didn't know the consequences. Everything sprouted from that one moment." Celestia's cries intensified.  
"What happened."  
_It's complicated._  
"Would some creature please tell me?" Pure whinned.  
_You're so boring. Anyways, I guess I'll tell you the story, since it involves me too. Long ago, before I was imprisoned, there were many, many alicorns and many, many draconequusi. We all generally avoided the other, and nothing happened._  
"What does this have to do with you or Celestia?"  
"Because he loved me." answered Celestia.

Pure Heart did not know what to say. He never expected anything like this to occur. "He loved you?" he finally spoke.  
_I did. You seem surprised. May I ask why?_  
"Because of all the things you did to her."  
"Which were all my fault."  
"Please stop saying that and tell me what happened!" Pure said, almost shouting.  
_Wow, very impatient. Since you're so eager to learn, I'll tell you, but don't interrupt. It was-_  
"I'll tell him, Discord." spoke Celestia, who controlled her sobbing. "I was still young then, recently out of my adolescent years. It was then, that I first met Discord. Most alicorns never spoke to a draconequus, and if they do, it was only once or twice. So, I was very surprised when Discord approached me at my age. It was very awkward, especially when he expressed his love for me. I denied him.  
_You kinda more than just "denying" me._  
"You're right," she said, a single tear appearing beneath her eye. "I completely rejected you."  
"How does you rejecting him affect everything?" asked Pure.  
_Seriously, how impatient is this pony?_  
"He's still young and learning, Discord."  
"Helloooooo, I'm right here." he said, waving a hoof around.  
_I can see that._  
"Back to the story," said the Princess. "When I rejected him, I went too far. I should have just said no, but I went further. I felt like I completely ruined his mind."  
_You did._  
"He was devastated, and became heavily depressed."  
_Even my only friend couldn't help in my situation._  
"You has a friend?" asked Pure, astonished.  
_If I wasn't in stone, you would be slapped very, very hard._  
"It was another draconequus I saw with him." answered Celestia. "His friend, though, always avoided us. Anyways, I thought Discord told you 'No Interruptions'."  
"Sorry."  
"Back to the past, when Discord when crazy, he did the only thing that made him happy."  
_Chaos_, Discord said with a chuckle.  
"His targets were other ponies. The alicorns became annoyed that he was messing with other ponies, so they requested the draconequusi contain him.  
_I believe it was more like, "Get him out or we'll kill him"._  
"Yes, the draconequusi didn't want the alicorns to get Discord, and conflict grew. Eventually, it turned into an all-out war."  
_Ironically, the only survivors of the war were the ones who started it._  
"Yes," Celestia said, about to cry again. "Almost every creature died. My parents, brother, friends, they all died for something I caused. The reason I'm crying is because the impossible will soon happen."  
"What do you mean?"  
"There is only one war in Equestrian history, and this book was written about Equestria." She pointed to an old book in front of her. Pure Heart hadn't seen it until now.  
"What does it say?"  
_Why don't you read it?_  
He approached cautiously, and peered at the old text.

_The second of three shall return,_  
_And in his wake, chaos will churn._  
_Lost in war, between family and friend,_  
_A decision made, caused him to descend._  
_Those he loved, believe he is dead,_  
_Their reunion will come, his eyes blood-red._  
_His story shall be told, full and true_  
_From this point, his curse will be due._  
_Of his forms, one must prevail,_  
_Or he'll lose his body, to fire and scale._

Hazelnut put the book down. He was lying in a bed in the library. Although the night had been going for a long time, he hadn't found the need to sleep. This phrase he read kept him going. He was traveling throughout Equestria to find the meaning. His interest was sparked because he knew who wrote it. After many years, he could recite it forwards and backwards, but he still preferred to read it from a book. It helped him understand it better. His travels were to places wrecked with chaos, hoping he would catch the one in the poem. He rolled in his cloak, and tried to go to sleep.


	7. He Returns

Hazel woke up due to noises from the main room in the library. He recognized the first voice as Twilight's, but the other was a mystery. He quietly opened the door that led into the main room and saw Twilight speaking with another pony, a unicorn. She had a blue coat, with a dark blue mane and tail. Hazel regarded their talk as friend gossip and tried to leave without being noticed. Unfortunately for him, Twilight was good at finding ponies.  
"Good Morning, Hazel. This is my friend from when I lived in Canterlot."  
"Hi, my name is Amethyst."  
"Hi, what brings you to Ponyville?" asked Hazelnut. He tried his best to hide his annoyance.  
"Just visiting Twilight. I haven't seen her in awhile. But I heard you were staying here at the library."  
"Yeah, mainly because I like trees, but Twilight offered so I took it."  
"Kinda weird staying in a library, isn't it?"  
"Not for me, like I said, I like trees." he responded with a chuckle. They talked for a few minutes, and then Hazel excused himself from the building. He barely made it away from the tree before he heard a noise. He followed his ears and found three little fillies. Two were laughing at the other and saying things that Hazel couldn't make out. As he approached, he understood the words.  
"Blank Flank! Blank Flank!" Hazelnut, for a reason he didn't understand, felt sorry for the filly being bullied. One of the bullies had a light pink coat and a pale violet mane with a white stripe in it. The other filly had a dark grey coat and a light grey mane. The filly being abused had a yellow coat with a red mane. She also had a red-pink bow in her mane. The pink filly noticed Hazel watching them and shouted, "What are you looking at?"  
As he approached the group, he thought of a plan, and smiled. "Just wondering why you're taunting her." He stopped next to the yellow pony.  
"Because she has no cutie mark."  
"I don't see what makes you so special."  
The grey one spoke this time, "Because she doesn't know her special talent."  
"No, I mean I literally cannot see why you're special." he said with a grin. The fillies, about to continue their rant, looked at their flanks, but saw nothing. In unison, the two screamed and ran off, leaving Hazel and the other filly laughing.  
"Did you do that, mista'?"  
"Call me Hazel, and yes, I did that."  
"How long will it last?"  
"That's the best part," he laughed, "It will end at random. Anytime from a few minutes to forever." The filly seemed shocked by that. "It's funny and all, but isn't it kinda mean?"  
"So, you're a filly with morals. Interesting..."  
"What's so interesting?"  
"Nothing, and don't worry. The spell will wear off shortly."  
"But you just said it was random." complained the little filly.  
"I wanted to see your reaction." Hazel chuckled.  
"Hey Applebloom." shouted a voice from behind them. Both filly and stallion knew it was Applejack's voice. As she approached, she glared at Hazelnut.  
"Applebloom, didn't ah tell yah not to talk with strangers?"  
"I know, but he helped me." Applebloom replied.  
"Helped yah? How?"  
"He scared away Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara when they were bullying me." Applejack glanced back at Hazel, and said, "Sorry, Hazel. Honestly, ah just don't trust yah around my family."  
"It okay," he smirked, "you have good reason to." Then, Hazelnut walked away, leaving Applejack watching him once again. He decided to find Silver and Gold and meet up with them, but when he heard a joyous scream coming from Pinkie Pie in the distance, he thought it best to stay inside. Once he returned to the library, he went into the side room, and searched for a specific book. Hazel looked around; making sure Twilight or any other pony weren't looking. He grabbed the book he had been looking for, opened it and put a bookmark on page 203. When he replaced the book on the shelf, the bookshelf started to move. It moved forwards a foot, and then overlapped the adjacent shelf to reveal a door in the wall. When he opened the door, he shifted the bookshelves back into their original position. He walked down a flight of stairs, and entered the basement area. It was bright, due to the light from the ceiling. The walls were painted in arrays of light and dark green. The area is only known by two ponies, its creator and Hazelnut. Hazel met the designer of the library once, and he had told Hazel the secret to enter the basement. In the basement, there were rows and rows of young trees Hazel has been growing. He lived here for an extended period of time long ago. His reason for coming was not just to check on his tree, for he put a spell to keep them alive, but to find something he left. After searching for a few minutes, he found his treasure. It was another black cloak, but this one had a large, leafless oak on it. He always adored this cloak over his plain one, but he left it behind when he last came here. Hazel received the cloak from the designer of the library, so he kept it hidden here. As he was about the leave, he realized he needed to make sure no pony saw him exit the basement. His luck continued when he heard Pinkie Pie enter the library and started distracting Twilight. He quickly reentered the side room, and closed the door and moved the shelf back. When he walked into the main room, he saw a mortified Twilight, and a very wet, yet excited, Pinkie Pie saying, "Come on, Twilight. He made chocolate milk. I found orange soda, therefore it can't be him."  
"He could've just changed it for some reason."  
Wanting to learn more, Hazel joined the conversation. "What's going on?" Pinkie Pie, before Twilight could even turn towards the brown unicorn, said, "I found the cloud in the south field of Sweet Apple Acres and it was raining orange soda! Can you believe it? Orange soda!"  
"What is the problem with that?" he asked Twilight.  
"Because that means Discord returned!" That name sounded familiar to Hazel, and took him a second to remember who he was. "You mean Discord, the draconequus?"  
"I don't know any other Discord, nor any other draconequus."  
Hazel turned to Pinkie Pie, and said, "So, you saw a cloud that rained orange soda?"  
"I did, and it was delicious."  
Twilight walked away from the two ponies and shouted, "I'm writing to Princess Celestia about this." What neither mare saw, was the color draining from Hazelnut's face when heard Twilight.


	8. The New Player

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_An event has occurred in Ponyville. I fear that Discord has escaped. Pinkie Pie claims to have seen one of his creations, a cloud raining orange soda. I trust her completely. I wish for you to answer as quickly as possible._

_Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle_

Celestia put the scroll down. Although her desk was filled with papers, she always put Twilight's letters ahead of everything else. She set the scroll down, and thought deeply about how he had escaped. Just as she was about to see where his statue stood, the princess heard movement behind her. It sounded similar to a slither of a snake.  
"I'm surprised you escaped yet again from your stone prison, Discord." she said, smiling to herself.  
"Should I be happy you knew I was a draconequus, or upset because you thought I was Discord?" said a voice that she did not know. Confused, she turned around, and saw a draconequus sitting in the corner of her room, but it wasn't Discord. The color scheme of his body was different to that of Celestia's lover. He had a black body, his eagle arm was gold, his lion arm was grey, his lizard leg was scarlet, his goat leg was white, and his tail was green. His face remained hidden in the darkness of the room.  
"I thought all the draconequusi had died." Celestia said, recovered from her initial shock.  
"Well, you have Discord still. He's probably lucky to be so close to you." he said, laughing.  
"How did you know he loved me?" asked the princess, half snarling, half confused.  
"He told me, we were great friends before the war." Realization swept over Celestia as she understood who he was.  
"Why did you never talk to me? If Discord was your friend, how come you left him when he expressed himself to me?"  
"Because I wanted to keep away from you." he said with a chuckle.  
"Why?"  
"Secrets, my little alicorn."  
"Did you cause the problem in Ponyville?"  
"I wouldn't call it a problem, but if you are referring to my raincloud, then yes. I actually showed Discord how to make one." Celestia was sure he was smiling.  
"Does he know you are alive?"  
"Nope." he said, laughing more.  
"Why haven't you?"  
"I will, I just wanted to see you first. After all, you started this whole mess."  
"I know." the Solar Princess said quietly as she hung her head down. The draconequus walked towards her, and put his hand on her mane. Celestia felt comforted as he glided his hand through her mane. She looked at his face, smiling. He had a grey face, similar to Discord's, but no facial hair. His antlers were also the same, except for them being on different sides in respect towards Discord. She wanted to see his eyes, but they were closed.  
"What's your name?" she asked.  
"Dissonance."  
"How did you survive the thousands of years since the war?"  
"I found ways." he said. "Now, you best find a way to respond to your student."  
"You know Twilight sent a letter?"  
"I watched her send it." he said. With a last laugh, snapped his fingers and disappeared from the room. As she stood there, Pure Heart walked into the room with his wife.  
"Sister," started Luna, "Are you okay? We heard voices from this room."  
Celestia broke from her trance and said, "I'm fine Luna."  
"Whom were you talking to?"  
"An old acquaintance. Also, a friend of Discord."  
Pure only started at Celestia, but Luna asked, "Dissonance?"  
Surprised, the Solar Princess said, "How did you know his name?"  
Luna smirked, and said, "You're not the only one who visits our friend in the basement."  
Pure finally spoke, "So, is everything I originally learned about draconequusi and you two a lie?"  
"Pretty much." said Celestia, and the two sisters started to laugh.

Their laugh was cut short by a knock on the door. A guard said loudly, "Princess, a unicorn named Amethyst wishes to see you now."  
"Yes, bring her in." The door opened and in walked a blue unicorn. She bowed in the presence of the three alicorns.  
"This is a secret mission, Amethyst. You don't need formalities."  
"Sorry," she whispered.  
"Anyways, I dealt with the issue in Ponyville, and talked to the creature responsible."  
"He did seem a little out of it, didn't he?" she said, releasing a small giggle.  
Confused, Celestia asked, "You met him?"  
"Well, yes. It's kinda hard not to when he stays in the library with Twilight."  
"Dissonance lives in the library?" shouted Celestia, taken back by her second favorite student's comment.  
Amethyst also shrank back, scared of the princess. She finally spoke, "Who's Dissonance?"  
"You said, you met him at the library."  
"I don't know anypony named Dissonance."  
"Then whom were you referring to?"  
"A unicorn named Hazelnut."  
Celestia seemed stumped by this. She thought she had solved the problem, but now there was a new variable. "What seemed unusual about this unicorn?"  
"Other than the fact he likes tree enough to want to sleep in one, he always wore a cloak."  
"Did you ask why?"  
"He said he felt natural near trees."  
"I mean the cloak." said Celestia, slightly irritated.  
"Oh, sorry," the blue unicorn said, apologetically. "He said he didn't want other to see his cutie mark. He said it embarrassed him."  
"Thank you for doing this, Amethyst." Celestia said, smiling.  
"Any time, Princess." she was about to bow, but saw a look from Celestia, and just left the room.  
Turning to her family, Celestia said, "How should we deal with this Hazel?"  
"I'll go first thing tomorrow night." Pure Heart offered.


	9. Mistake and Consequences

Hazelnut returned to the library. He excused himself for a walk around town earlier, and was getting tired. He found the door slightly ajar, so he pushed through with his body. He saw Twilight reading a book at her study up the stairs.  
"Any news from the princess, Twilight?" he asked, nervously. He always had fear towards the Princesses of Celestia.  
Twilight looked up from her book, and look horrified towards Hazel. "What's wrong?" he asked. Hazel was getting more nervous by the second. Without any warning, he felt himself life from the ground, and flung at the wall.  
Hazel groaned as he fell to the floor, his body ached in many places from the impact. He tried to stand again, but was met with more flying and another hit onto a wall. Hazel thought it best to stay on the ground. He was wrong.  
Twilight jumped onto him and pinned his neck to the floor with her foreleg. "What did you do to Hazelnut?" she screamed in his face.  
Still very disoriented, he replied, "What do you mean? I'm right here." This time, his face got the impact of the bookshelf he hit. Hazel felt a warm liquid flowing from his forehead. He wiped his head with his claw, then tried to raise himself again, but he stopped. He looked down, and saw his claw was covered in blood. It wasn't the blood that shocked him, but the claw. He realized what had just happened, and saw Twilight preparing another burst of magic.  
"Wait!" he shouted. "Let me explain." Suddenly, he felt his limbs being tied together behind his back from a very cold substance. His legs were also clamped together, and he fell due to being off-balance. He looked up at the purple unicorn, and whimpered in her presence.  
"You better start explaining, then." she said, coldly.  
"Well," he gulped, "I actually am Hazelnut."  
"Why were you pretending to be him?"  
"I wasn't pretending, I am."  
"Stop lying," she screamed, "You're a draconequus, not a unicorn."  
"So, I'm not allowed to be both?"  
"Only alicorns are strong enough to use that type of magic."  
Dissonance grinned, and said, "Of course."  
"By the way, get ready."  
"For what?"  
"To meet Celestia."  
"I already did." he laughed.  
"Then there's no trouble in a second meeting."  
Realizing he was fighting for a lost cause, Dissonance gave one last request. "Can you do something before we go?"  
"Depends."  
"Blindfold me."  
Twilight looked at him, confused. He continued, "I want to be blindfolded when I see Celestia again."  
Twilight grumbled a little, then replied, "Fine." She left him on the floor and went upstairs. She knew the cuffs she on him would prevent any movement. She returned with a strip of black fabric. She was secretly surprised to find him in the same position she left him in. Twilight tightened the fabric around his head, and teleported them to the Canterlot.

The two arrived in the throne room, but they saw neither princess. A couple of guards spotted them, and were dumbfounded by seeing the princess's star pupil and a draconequus in the throne room. Twilight quickly shouted, "Find Celestia, and get her here. NOW!"  
The two guards left immediately. Twilight and Dissonance waited in silence for a few moments, then they heard hoofsteps in the distance. The steps became increasing louder, until finally, three alicorns burst into the room. Celestia, Luna, and Pure all stared at the unicorn and draconequus.  
Breaking the silence, the Solar Princess said, "What's going on here?"  
"He came into the library, so I brought him here."  
"Answer me, Twilight. This may seem irrelevant, but why didn't you mention the unicorn Hazelnut to me?"  
"Why didn't you mention him to me?" Twilight countered, pointing a hoof at Dissonance.  
"He wasn't important."  
"So the fact another draconequus survived the war you started wasn't important?"  
Celestia's eyes narrowed as she heard her student speak. "How do you know that?"  
"Just because you're Princess of Equestria doesn't give you the right to create magical connections between yourself and another pony without their knowledge."  
"That's sounds like the type of thing you would do, Celestia." said a voice. Every pony turned towards Dissonance.  
"How would you know? We barely know each other. And why do you have a blindfold on?"  
"Because I want a blindfold on. The reason I know, is because I met your brother."

Silence gripped the room for what seemed like an eternity. Celestia spoke, her voice sounding slightly shaky, "You've met Nemoris?"  
"Indeed. We are very close." he said, smiling.  
"Are?" Celestia said, confused.  
"Firstly, can I get these cuffs off?" Twilight hesitated a moment, then shot a quick beam of magic and his arm and leg brace disappeared.  
"Now, I wish to bring someone else here. He needs to be here after all." Dissonance smirked. He clapped his hands, and the stone statue of Discord appeared in front of him. Every pony jumped back in surprise. Dissonance clapped his hands again, but left them together. Cracks started to form around the figure, then it exploded. Shards of stone flew in all directions, but none landing on either pony or draconequus. Discord stared in disbelief that both he was free again, and his friend, whom he believed to be dead, is alive.  
"Dissonance? You survived?"  
"Apparently."  
"Now that he's here, Dissonance," said Celestia loudly, "Can you tell us your tale?"  
"Very well then. But I think I don't need to _tell_ it."  
"What do you mean?"  
Dissonance started mumbling words inaudibly. Few of the words could be heard by the others. "...second...return...wake...chaos...churn...war...family and friend...decision...descend..."  
"Speak up, we can't hear you." said Luna, obviously annoyed.  
Dissonance tilted his head up and smiled, "Those he loved, believe he is dead; their reunion will come," he took his blindfold off, but kept his eyes closed. "His eyes blood-red." he said, while slowly opening his eyes, to reveal two irises as red as blood.

* * *

Nearing the end of the story. It's been very fun writing.


	10. Blood Red Eyes

"No." said Celestia, very quietly, almost a whisper. "You can't be. He died." Both her and Luna were on the verge of tears. A bright flash of light erupted from where Dissonance once stood. When the light retreated, another pony had taken his place. He appeared to be the same as Hazelnut, but the new pony had both wings and a horn, and was taller. Tears finally released themselves from the eyes of Celestia and Luna when they saw his cutie mark. A large, leafless oak tree.  
"I'm sorry, but I did what I felt was right."  
"Leaving us thinking you were dead was _right_?" Celestia shouted, between sobs.  
"I couldn't fight in the war."  
"And why couldn't you?"  
"Because I was also Dissonance, and a friend of Discord. I couldn't fight my friend or my family."  
"Then why do we think you died?"  
"I cast a spell on you, giving you false memory."  
"Why?"  
"So I could stay out of the war." Nemoris answered.  
Discord finally joined the conversation, "So all this time, you were both an alicorn and a draconequus?"  
"Yes."  
"Which one first?"  
"What do you mean?" Nemoris asked, confused.  
"Were you an alicorn that became a draconequus, or a draconequus that became an alicorn?"  
Nemoris seemed stumped for a few moments, "I don't know. For as long as I remember, I was both. I hid my secret because of the bad relations between the races."  
"So that's why Dissonance, or you when you were Dissonance, ignored us?" asked Celestia.  
"Yes."  
"What did you mean by descend?" Everypony looked at Celestia like she was saying nonsense, except Nemoris.  
He chuckled and said, "So, you've been reading that as well?"  
"You wrote it, so presumably, I would read it."  
Nemoris looked at the confused ponies, and said, "I used to write prophecies when I was younger. They were poems I randomly thought of, but ended up becoming true. I didn't know it at the time, but one I wrote down was referring to myself. Now, onto Celestia's question. When I hid from the war, I had to hide. But it isn't easy being either an alicorn or a draconequus and hiding. I decided to cast a spell to make me a unicorn. I had to change my name, because ponies back then knew of me, so I chose Hazelnut."  
Twilight spoke up, "But why did you wear a cloak?"  
"To hide my cutie mark. Ponies back then would recognize it, and old habits die hard. I kept wearing it because I knew that someday, a pony would recognize it."  
Luna finally ended her silence, "Why did you never return even after the war was over?"  
"Celestia knows the answer." The ponies, and Discord, all stared at the Solar Princess again. She seemed confused for a moment, but then lowered her head in grief. She spoke after a few moments of silent weeping, "When will it happen?"  
"Can't say for sure, but soon. Once I finish my story."  
"Then answer me this, please." said Twilight.  
"Of course."  
"Why did you stay in library in Ponyville?"  
Nemoris gave a small chuckle, and replied, "Well, what I told you friend was true. I do like trees. Celestia cares for the sun, Luna the moon, and I have trees and life in this world. But I did prefer trees over everything else."  
"So, you slept in the library because it was a tree?"  
"Well I did design the building of it." He laughed when he saw Twilight's awestruck face. "I came back to check on my basement."  
"Your basement? I've been in there hundreds of times, why would you need to check on it?"  
"Not that basement, a floor underneath the one you are referring to."  
"What do you mean?"  
"In the side room, there is a book about the Everfree forest."  
"The Ecology of Everfree Wildlife?"  
"Correct, I'm surprised you remember that. Anyways, open it up to page 203, put a bookmark in, and place it back on the shelf. You won't miss what happens next."  
"Why are you telling me this?"  
"Because I can trust you, and because I may not be able to return there."

He looked at the inhabitants of the throne room, and noticed they were looking worriedly at him. "What's wrong now?" he asked. He glanced at his hooves, his wings, his flank, but found no problems.  
"Your voice, it suddenly got deeper." exclaimed Pure Heart. Confused, Nemoris said a few random words, and also noticed his pitch lowered almost a full octave. He looked solemnly at his sisters, said, "Well, this may be good bye."  
Celestia lowered her head again, while Luna frantically asked, "What does he mean, sister?"  
Without warning, Nemoris fell to the ground, and started to shake violently.


	11. Decision

As Nemoris fell, his head started to sear with pain. He could barely move his limbs. He forgot all about the other inhabitants of the room due to his agony. Pure Heart, Luna, and Twilight all rushed towards him, but they suddenly stopped. They hit an invisible wall, separating them from the other alicorn.  
"Celestia," shouted Luna, "What are you doing?"  
"We cannot interfere now." said Discord before the Solar Princess could answer.  
"Why?" she continued to shout.  
Instead of answering, Celestia appeared to be on the verge of tears.

Nemoris continued to shake violently on the floor. He started to lose feeling in his extremities due to the pain. In his mind he heard voices speaking.  
_Why fight longer? Join your sisters again as a prince. _said a voice.  
_Don't go to them, spend the rest of time with your only friend. _spoke another.  
A third joined the discussion, _You don't need any of them._  
Nemoris knew the origins of the voices. Each was the voice of a form he took in his life.

"Princess, why are you doing this?" screamed Twilight, almost crying herself. She had never seen a pony suffer so much pain.  
Celestia continued to remain silent for a few more moments, but then she broke it. She started speaking words that every pony thought had no relevance to the situation.  
"The second of three shall return, and in his wake, chaos will churn."

_Come on, Nemoris. You have such power in being an alicorn._  
_Being a draconequus allows you to have fun._  
_Why do you need extreme power, why not a quiet life as a unicorn._

"Lost in war, between family and friend," continued Celestia. Luna kept flinging herself against her sister's barrier. Just as she was about to breach it, Discord stopped her. "You have to understand, thi-"  
"How can I understand this much pain brought upon a single pony?"  
"Maybe if you listen to your sister"  
Celestia was still speaking, but Pure started to recognize the words, "A decision made, caused him to descend."

_Don't you want family._  
_You only had one friend in your life._  
_You had much more fun on the road._

"Those he loved believe he is dead, their reunion will come, his eyes blood-red."  
"Please, Celestia," begged Twilight. She started towards the princess, but was stopped by another pony.  
"You can't affect what happens now, Twilight." Pure Heart said.  
"Why can't I?"  
"Because you can't change prophecies." he said, receiving a look of confusion from the unicorn.  
"His story shall be told, full and true, from this point, his curse will be due."

_Family._  
_Friends._  
_Isolation._  
Nemoris knew what would happen. He couldn't decide where he belonged. He felt his body start to shift. He felt his hooves start ripping apart. His wings seemed to enlarge slightly.

"Of his forms, one must prevail, or he'll lose his body," Celestia looked up. Every pony, and draconequus, followed in suit. They watched Nemoris' body change. He stood on his ripped hooves, barely staying stable. He solemnly looked at the others, knowing he only had a few seconds left. As his horn started to crack, he finished his story, "To fire and scale." Nemoris disappeared from the room just as his horn gave way. Celestia, Luna, and even Discord started to weep. Twilight and Pure Heart only stared at the events that were unfolding.

3 years later

Two pegasi were running through the fields as fast as they could. They repeatedly look behind themselves, and repeatedly saw nothing. They almost _knew_ they were being followed since being given instructions.  
"Hurry up, Silver." shouted one of the pegasi.  
"Shut up Gold, you know I hate running and that I'm out of shape." replied the silver one.  
"I always told you you needed to be fit in case something like this occurs."  
"But what was the likelihood of this actually occurring?"  
"Based on the last few minutes, very likely." Gold grinned.  
"Just shut up, once we finish the job, we should be safe."

The two ran across the fields outside of Ponyville, and came upon five figures sitting on the crest of a hill.  
"Wait, are these seriously the ponies we are looking for?" asked Gold.  
"I assume so."  
"But that one's not even a pony, he's a... whatever you would call him."  
"He did say one wouldn't be pony."  
While the two pegasi argued, they hadn't notice the group watching them. When they heard a giggle come from the group, the two brothers realized they were spotted. They walked forwards cautiously, and were amazed at the content of the party. Their eyes were first drawn to the two Princesses of Equestria, then to Twilight. They noticed a red alicorn sitting very, very close to Luna. Their eyes locked upon the draconequus of the group, whom they recognized as Discord. Celestia broke their trance, "Any reason you two are here?"  
"Oh sorry," replied Silver, "We've been told to give you this." He pulled out a scroll from his saddlebag.  
"From whom?" Celestia spoke as she opened it. Before she could receive an answer from the pegasus, she looked up from the scroll and stared at Luna, a single tear forming in her eye. "He sends his regards, Luna." she said, showing her the a large oak tree printed on the scroll.

"I never said I would be gone forever." said a deep voice behind them. They all jumped in surprise to see a large dragon. His scales were pitch-black, and his wings were of a brown hue. His eyes had a dark blue color to them.  
"Nemoris?" asked Celestia, dumbfounded.  
"I prefer Kauhistus when I'm a dragon."  
"Wait, you can change out of being a dragon?"  
"Not yet, but I'm pretty sure I can. As for you two, Silver and Gold, thanks for delivering my message."  
"So, does that mean you won't eat us?" asked Gold Rush, nervously.  
"Don't worry, you can keep your flesh." he said, but quietly added, "For now." The two brother instantly ran off, leaving the six laughing.

The five continued to sit, enjoying the company of their lost brother/friend. As the sun started to sink below the horizon, Luna and Pure Heart kissed. Celestia and Discord looked at them, then kissed each other, leaving Twilight feeling very surprised and alone. Without warning, she felt herself being picked up, and felt a pair of large, hot lips kiss her, almost covering her face. As Kauhistus set the dazed Twilight back down, the three alicorns and Discord stared at him, flabbergasted.  
"What?" he defended himself, "You all were kissing and she was lonely." Luna started to giggle, and soon, everypony, including the dragon and draconequus, took up the laughter.


	12. Epilogue: Darkness Rises

Epilogue  
A large dragon flew through the air. The land underneath him was blackened with death. The sunless sky also didn't help lighten the mood. He felt a pony on his back start to shift uneasily.  
"Don't worry," he called back to the pony, "I know the devastation is worse closer to Canterlot, but that gives more reason to go through our plan."  
"It's just," she replied, "How did this all happen?"  
"Time, dear Twilight, time."  
"How much longer until we arrive, Kau?"  
"You know I don't like that nickname." the dragon said, slightly annoyed.  
"Fine. How much longer until we arrive _Kauhistus_?"  
"Much better, and we are already there."  
Twilight looked over the dragon's head, and saw the ruins of Canterlot.  
"Why did you carry me, anyways? I can fly, not perfectly, but still very well."  
"You only got your wings because you married me, I'm not sure how strong they are."  
"You don't need to be so protective of me."  
"Sorry." Kauhistus said, as he landed onto a stony road. Twilight hopped off his back, and the couple started to walk towards the castle. Twilight remembered the streets of Canterlot, many years ago, when ponies were still alive. She and her husband have not seen another pony, except for Celestia and Luna, for a very long time. The castle appeared to have no internal structure anymore. Most of the walls had fallen down, and rubble littered the hallways. The dragon and alicorn passed the entrance, and walked to the garden. In the life-less garden, they saw two alicorns sitting in the wake of their old castle.

"Hello Celestia. Hello, Luna." Twilight said, approaching the two princesses. They turned to greet their sister-in-law. Their faces had wrinkles starting to form, due to the lack of sunlight and moonlight in the world.  
"Hello Twilight, I guess it is morning right now, but that term had no meaning anymore." said Celestia solemnly.  
"Maybe it will, soon." Twilight told her former teacher, trying to lighten her mood.  
"Where is Nemoris?"  
"I'm here." shouted Kauhistus.  
"You know we need you as an alicorn, not a dragon." said Celestia, sternly.  
"Calm down, Tia." Kauhistus replied quickly. A bright flash of light engulfed him, and in his place, was an alicorn.  
"Happy?"  
"No." she said. Luna stood up and walked to the other alicorns, "Sorry, sister has been like this for a long time. Ever since we decided to save Equestria."  
"And we better get started, the longer we wait, the less chance of it working."  
"Celestia," shouted Luna, "We haven't seen Twilight in such a long time, and now you want to just leave?"  
"Luna, I'll become the sun, you'll become the moon, and Nemoris the life in Equestria. We will always be close to Twilight when she becomes Princess of Equestria. We must do this, for Discord and Pure Heart and every other pony."

The four waited in silence for a few minutes, then Celestia rose and said, "It's time." She walked over and hugged Twilight, letting a tear form in her eye. Luna followed in suit, and then stood beside her sister, a few yards from Nemoris and Twilight. They looked at him quizzically, and then he said; "Go ahead, I want to spend a few more minutes with my wife."  
Celestia's and Luna's horn started to glow, then to them, time seemed to almost stop.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. But this is the way things have to be." said Nemoris. The two princesses couldn't speak, but they saw tears start to collect underneath his eyes. "You were wrong, about saving Equestria. It is gone, and we cannot bring it back. The reason I know this is because I wrote a prophecy about it. It took all the thousands of years I spent with Twilight to understand it." Celestia and Luna slowly started to disappear as he spoke. "What I learned is why we control the sun, the moon, and life. It is because all this time, it was us. The connection we had with our corresponding force was due to it being ourselves. We have to leave this world behind, and make sure the world we lived in stays alive." As Nemoris finished, Celestia and Luna had time to each shed a single tear, before they disappeared. A few seconds later, the sun rose in the horizon, and the moon was already high in the sky.

Together, Twilight and Nemoris used their horns, and the sun and moon vanished from sight. Nemoris turned to his partner, and said, "This is how I created all of my prophecies. I had myself secretly telling me without my knowledge of it." He looked sorrowfully at Twilight, "You know what to do now."  
"I do," she said, starting to cry herself.  
"Do it as I disappear."  
"Okay."  
"I love you." he said, kissing Twilight. They released from the kiss, and Nemoris backed up a few paces. Suddenly, his body started to vanish from where it was. He looked at Twilight, tears shedding from both alicorns. He smiled, and he disappeared from Equestria.

10,000 years in the past

Celestia woke up. She was a filly, and looked like her future self, but without the fancy jewelry. She hopped out of bed, but saw her two other sibling had already left the room. For an unknown reason, she felt an attraction towards the window. She peered outside, and her eyes were drawn towards the sun. She stared at it for almost a full minute. Usually it hurt her eyes to look at it, but it soothed her to stare at it. She went downstairs, hoping to find her brother and sister so they could try to find their cutie marks.

When she entered the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the table, and a question popped into her head.  
"Mother?"  
"Yes, Tia?" she replied, not looking up.  
"I was wondering, does anypony control the sun?"  
"It is believed that a pony will be able to control it, and that pony would become Princess of Equestria." She looked at her daughter, "Why do you a-"  
"Why do I what, mother?" Celestia asked, confused at her mother's instant silence.  
"Your... cutie mark..." She stood up, and quickly left the room. Celestia looked at her flank, and saw a large symbol of the sun on it. She became very excited, and jumped outside to find her siblings.

She looked around, but had trouble finding them. Finally, she found her brother near a tree.  
"Hey, Nemor. I got my cutie mark!" she exclaimed. Nemoris looked up, and said, "Congratulations, and so did I!" He pointed to his flank, and on it was a large, leafless oak tree.  
"What do you suppose our talents are?"  
"Not sure, but Luna seems to resemble her own very well."  
"Where is she?"  
"In the basement."  
Startled, Celestia asked, "Why?"  
"Well, her cutie mark is the moon, so I guess she is there to stay in the darkness."  
Celestia walked away to find her younger sister. As she walked, she thought to herself, _I wonder if I will become Princess of Equestria._

Present

Twilight looked at where her husband had stood only a second ago. She wiped the tears from her eyes and laid down. As she laid on the ground, she started to feel fatigued, as if energy was leaving her body. She knew what was happening. As she became more and more tired, she thought of the ponies in her life. Twilight thought of the two princesses, and everything they did for her. She thought of her husband, who was reliving his life, only watching it from the sidelines. Most importantly, she thought of her five original friends, and the power of their friendship. Twilight smiled as she her body started to tire out. She was happy. A final tear left her eye as she fell into everlasting sleep, knowing she would finally be able to see her family and friends once again.


End file.
